Virtuosa: A Look at Deonna Purrazzo's Career (So Far)

You know, time really flies fast, doesn't it? It's hard to believe that the first time we saw Deonna Purrazzo on a grand stage was nine years ago--it seems like yesterday! The year was 2014, and Impact Wrestling (under the TNA label) was doing their "One Night Only" events--I loved those. One of their yearly events was the iconic Knockouts Knockdown, which was solely focused on the Knockouts--Impact's Women's Division. The first event took place in the fall of 2013, but the focus is on the second one, which saw Impact's regular Knockouts and a mixture of talent from all over the independent circuit. Among the indy talents was 19-year-old Deonna Purrazzo, a New Jersey-based wrestler who was just getting started.

I remember Deonna's appearance so vividly, this was basically her debut into this great sport. Her opponent in the event was Brooke Tessmacher, and I loved the portrayals of both women; Brooke was the evil and surly pro, while Deonna was a somewhat shy rookie who had enough temerity to stand up against Brooke's arrogant bullying, and even though Deonna lost, I knew I would see more of this young talent--much more! Since then, Deonna would make appearances for Queens of Combat, a North Carolina-based women's wrestling promotion, and would appear for Impact a few more times, including competing at the fourth Knockouts Knockdown in 2016. Around that same time, Deonna was also making appearances in WWE, mostly on NXT, though her best appearance came at the end of 2016.

In December of 2016, Deonna actually appeared on SmackDown as a supposed opponent for then-SmackDown Women Champion Alexa Bliss, only to for Deonna to be attacked by Alexa before Becky Lynch made the save. Later in the month, the famous La Luchadora angle began, with Becky Lynch donning the costume to get the best of Alexa during their championship feud. A week later, on the final SmackDown of 2016, Becky and Alexa fought for the title, when out of nowhere, an evil La Luchadora appeared and went after Becky. She was fought off by Becky, but afterwards, La Luchadora exposed a turnbuckle and sent Becky towards that uncovered steel, with the attack allowing Alexa to retain the title.

As reports stated, the masked villainess was portrayed by Deonna, which was very epic. Deonna could play the villainess as well as she does playing the heroine, but this was a whole other level, as Deonna portrayed a high level of ruthlessness in her attacks towards Becky Lynch. Deonna actually competed as La Luchadora a week later, but the endgame for that angle was to have Mickie James (who returned to WWE in November 2016) officially unmasked as La Luchadora, with the unveiling taking place on January 17, 2017.

Deonna would be signed by WWE in 2018, appearing on that year's Mae Young Classic (which WWE needs to bring back) before becoming a regular on NXT, as well as NXT UK. It was at that time the emphasis of her nickname, "The Virtuosa," had grown; I recall first hearing that name a few years prior to her WWE signing, but once she was signed, the moniker became hugely promoted, especially after Deonna became villainous in early 2020. As a heel for the first time in WWE (not counting her brief La Luchadora role), Deonna briefly feuded with Shotzi Blackheart before making sporadic appearances on main roster shows like Raw and Main Event. However, WWE decided ro release Deonna that year, and I'll never forget this: they actually thought she wasn't ready for TV.

Morons.

Later that year, Deonna returned to Impact as a signed talent, and I remember the promos for her return, which saw her promote her "Virtuosa" moniker. Her official debut came on June 9 of that year, as she laid out then-Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace and placed her in the Fujiwara armbar, and a month later at Slammiversary, Deonna captured the title from Jordynne Grace, and would successfully defend the title in a 30-minute Iron Woman Match--winning 2-1. Deonna's first reign lasted 14 weeks until she lost to Su Yung, but she would get the title back from Su just a few weeks later.

Reign #2 firmly cemented Deonna as one of the greatest current talents, as we would see her successfully defend the Knockous World Championship against women such as Rosemary, Taya Valkyrie, the iconic Jazz (in a Title vs Career Match), Tenille Dashwood, Havok, and even Thunder Rosa.

Deonna's bout against Thunder Rosa took place at Slammiversary in 2021, and her entrance saw her appear as an "evil queen" of sorts, truly fitting of her persona and placement atop the Knockouts Division. It was at that same event that Deonna was approached by Mickie James to appear at NWA's EmPowerrr event, though Deonna responded rudely before finally accepting much later. These were the first seeds planted for an eventual feud between Deonna and Mickie, and one day after successfully defending the title against Melina at EmPowerrr, the evil Deonna appeared at NWA73 and attacked Mickie, giving their feud more proverbial fruit.

During that same time, Deonna also held AAA's Reina de Reinas (Queen of Queens) Championship, having won the title at that event's Triplemania XXIX event. Deonna's brutal feud with Mickie saw her lose the Knockouts World Championship at Bound For Glory, with her second reign ending just 22 days shy of a full year. She failed to regain the title at Hard to Kill on January 8, 2022, but two days later, Deonna defeated Rok-C (who is now in WWE as Roxanne Perez), to capture the ROH Women's Championship, once again holding two titles at once. Though Deonna would drop both belts in April of 2022, she would capture another title in August, this time teaming with Chelsea Green to capture the Knockouts World Tag Team Championship.

The duo known as VXT ended up losing the titles eight weeks later, and Chelsea Green's departure following her ongoing feud with Mickie James drew laughter from Gisele Shaw, which angered Deonna and led to a face turn, which I absolutely loved and was pulling for. After briefly feuding with Gisele, Deonna faced off against Jordynne Grace for the vacant Knockouts World Championship, after Mickie James was unable to defend due to injury. Deonna defeated Jordynne to become champion for the third time, and this run has seen her defeat Gisele Shaw, Taylor Wilde, and Jordynne Grace once again.

Deonna Purrazzo has done so much in her wrestling career, and this is all as she celebrates her 29th birthday today! I have enjoyed watching Deonna in the ring for nine years now, and I know there's more to come because she's amazing as hell. She plays her roles very well; I loved her as a heel, but I was so glad she turned face recently, because it was time for Deonna to bring back her heroic persona--she plays that side immensely well. I love the "Virtuosa" nickname more and more as I hear it; the way I see it, "Virtuosa" is defined by Deonna's technical prowess, her elegance, and her vast cunning. It can also be tied to her ruthless nature, especially when she plays a villainess in the ring.

Deonna's next title defense will take place at Slammiversary, as she will face off against Trinity in a battle between two amazing talents who were badly and unfairly disrespected by WWE. That's going to be a classic, their matches usually are. Deonna is one of my all-time favorites, and it's because of her talent, her ambition, and most of all, her passion for her craft.